I was slowly sucked into the disturbing and atmospheric world of this book. The family secrets and various dramas of each character, not to mention the mysteries of the bog and the surrounding environment were characters on their own, helping to round out this creepy and interesting novel. It left me thinking about it long after I finished reading. I liked this more than I anticipated, one of the better books I've read in awhile. Great haunting read for the fall!

The lines between fantasy and reality blur in this moody, Appalachian tale. We follow the Haddesley family as their patriarch is dying and they must continue on with the covenant made with the bog in their care. Each sibling gets a chapter with their point of view, and reveals something intriguing about the story. I especially liked Wenna's perspective as she is the first of the siblings to leave the homestead and see the outside world. There were parts that were a bit murky for me, but I think they were intentional and kept with the overall theme of the story. I think I will keep this story in my mind for a long time to come, I am not exactly sure what else to say aside from it was an intriguing read and I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Disturbing in all the best ways. I finished over a week ago and I'm STILL thinking about this book. I could see it, smell it, feel it. It was a delight!

The author does an excellent job creating the environment within the author, both through the family home, but as well as the anthropomorphization of the bog. Each of the five Haddesley siblings are so distinctly characterization that when we switch between each of their positions, it's just so clear who's speaking without even needing the chapter titling. The tense, isolated Gothic family bleeds into all elements of this book that I found myself reading the entire novel in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. If you love the Gothic family set in rural Appalachia, this if for you!

I may come back and rate this higher but I think I need to sit back to take it in a bit longer. I will say it is outstanding at setting a gothic Appalachian vibe. It has impeccable description and the eeriness of the big mixed with the underlying hopelessness of the family really set an unsettling scene. The prose felt a bit too wordy at times and I found myself scanning sometimes but still not losing any of the plot which made me feel it could have been condensed in some places and maybe further explored the characters more. The book switches between all 5 siblings at random each chapter which feels overwhelming at times and doesn’t always feel like it’s going anywhere. I think that’s why I rated it so low. Sometimes it felt like the story just lost its way and started to wander to inconsequential places. In the end I think I like the way this book made me feel and the way the setting felt so real but the story itself and the characters could have used more depth.

I really liked this book. I ended up finishing it all in one setting because I wanted to see how the story ended. I think it does a nice balance of walking the line between fairytale and reality.

Wow - a compelling blend of magical realism, horror, gothic, and mystery. The characters are all painfully real: sometimes loveable and sad, sometimes deeply unlikable, but very well-developed, which made this novel stand out amongst other horror/fantasy/magical realism books I've read in recent years.

Five siblings live in a crumbling manor house on the edge of a bog, which they have an ancestral (and biological/spiritual) connection to. They are all adults, with adult problems and personalities, but this story has echoes of middle-grade fiction adventures where orphans have to survive strange circumstances after the death or disappearance of their parents (i.e. Narnia, Series of Unfortunate Events, The Boxcar Children, etc etc). The story is told from the (third person) perspectives of the five main characters, as they process being thrust into the unknown after the death of their father, the patriarch, who previously kept a tight control on information and ritual. Their mother emerged from the bog before they were born, and returned there at some point when they were children, never to be seen again (like a kind of bog-selkie). The rituals that are supposed to keep the relationship between the bog and the family functioning have failed...and the siblings start to discover that the rituals, and their whole family history, might not be exactly as their father led them to believe.

I finished this novel in 2 days. It's not long, and I never felt like it dragged. This is one of those books that seems like it is the exact right length for the story being told. Some questions are answered, but not all.

Although I read this in July, it is definitely a perfect Autumn read (which is perfect since its release date is October 1st). Thanks to Netgalley and Counterpoint for the advanced copy in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister. It is unlike much of the contemporary fiction that I read, so I really appreciated that change of pace.

It has all the elements of a truly bizarre Southern Gothic:
- Eccentric characters - look no further than the Haddesley siblings and patriarch
- A derelict manse - oh yeah, including portraits of each patriarch lining the parlor and a tree that fell through an entire wing still waiting to be removed
- Themes such as the pressure of the past upon the present - did I mention the portraits of the patriarchs looking down on our characters? Once one passes, it is up to the next to perform an arcane ritual to maintain the family and the bog.
- The tension between reality and the grotesque or occult - you’ll have to read to story to find out all about the “compact” between the Haddesley family and the bog that their decaying mansion sets upon.

In addition to being a fine example of Southern Gothic literature, Chronister wove in the intricate relationship between the human and the natural world as she spun up this family tale in a way that borders on eco-fiction.

Even with a somewhat (for me) unsatisfying ending, I loved this book.
Thank you Netgalley and Counterpoint press for this early reader edition.

If there is anything true about me, it's that I love a Gothic horror, and I love a story set in Appalachia. This book is the perfect combination of those two things, all tied up with an atmospheric folk horror ribbon.
The story is immediately immersive, and you're transported into the dilapidating ancestral home of the Haddesleys, with the quasi-sentient bog that controls their entire existence. You can feel the isolation and smell the decay. From the unsettling rituals to the all-encompassing mysteries of what exactly the bog is and what really happened to their bog wife mother all those years ago, this book was SUCH an intriguing treat.
Some other reviews that I've seen floating around mark the elevated prose as a turnoff, but that wasn't something that I found to be distracting, for the most part. The book does lean into the literary aspect of what horror can be, and it felt correct for the story being told.
I quite enjoyed this one, and already have another of the author's books on my TBR!

I wanted to like this. It is an interesting concept, but I feel that it fell short. It drags in places, and I had to force myself to keep at it. Some things are not explained well enough. The horror aspects are definitely there. If you have a problem with implied child abuse (not graphic) and abandoned children, then you might want to skip it

The Bog Wife details the story of a reclusive family who is tied, generation after generation, to the bog where their family lives. They know only each other, the bog, and the various rituals taught to them by their stern father.

It was interesting to try to decipher what was true in the story to what was kind of a shared family perspective rather than true reality. I really enjoyed the focus of connection and loss between siblings and the difficulties of navigating unhealthy family dynamics. The siblings’ journey really focused on how the bonds of family connect people, but that each person is still an individual with different desires and perceptions.

I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this before, and I really enjoyed it!

I was immediately hooked by this strange and wonderful story! The plot was unique, the pace was perfect, and I didn't even mind the open ending! I think this one is going to stick with me for awhile.

When Southern Gothic meets environmental literature meets magical realism, you get The Bog Wife. The story of a family in a covenant with a cranberry bog is so intimate that the characters are children of the bog itself. Every generation, the bog produces a bog wife for the male heir. This superbly written book raises questions about how we treat or mistreat women and the environment. How using without returning or loving harm, and hope that there is a brave new way forward.

I want to give this more than 5 stars. This book had be absolutely hooked. I loved all the different perspectives of all the characters and how there is magical realism sprinkled into lies and rumors and superstitions and how this is a horror and a family drama and a supernatural folk tale all woven into one spectacular story.

I tried to get into this one, but I really struggled with the dialogue in the beginning. I am still really thankful to Catapult Books, Kay Chronister, and Netgalley for granting me advanced digital access to this one before October 1, 2024.

The formatting was a mess. If publishers are going to offer a book for Kindle download then format it so it's readable. Aside from that this book was so full of purple prose I continually lost interest and skipped around.

I think this was just wasn't for me because it was so literary -- ie very big descriptive words that just detracted from the story for me. So if you are a fan of flowery language, this might resonate more, but I just found it to be really clunky to read.

For generations, the Haddesley family has relied on a covenant with a cranberry bog, sustained by the ritual sacrifice of their patriarch, which produces a "bog-wife" to continue the family line. When the bog fails to honor the bargain, the grieving Haddesley siblings face an uncertain future.

Wenna, returning home amid her crumbling marriage, believes they should abandon their legacy. Eldest daughter Eda wants to salvage the covenant by extreme measures, while Percy ventures into the wilderness to summon his own bog-wife. Nora struggles to keep the family together, and Charlie discovers a secret that challenges their beliefs.
I’m drawn to anything Appalachian, so the gothic, spooky, and secret-filled nature of this book had me hooked. The characters, though isolated from the outside world, are deeply complex. I didn't find myself loving or hating them, but rather felt the intense power of being trapped by one's past and familial obligations. Having grown up in a small town in West Virginia, I recognize many unspoken truths in Chronister’s work—fear of outsiders, a deep reliance on tradition and the land, and the pressing need to break free and evolve in order to survive and thrive, despite the fear that holds us back.

Although I usually prefer books to have a tidy conclusion, I didn't mind the open-ended nature of this story. That said, I might feel differently in a few days! There's plenty for the reader to interpret, and I've spent hours pondering how much of the story was real and how much was influenced by the characters' mental states. "The Bog Wife" is a compelling read that lingers long after the last page is turned.

Nora and Percy have an interesting relationship that plays out. I thought this was going to be a different kind of book with a type of witch narrative that was more action-oriented. This one was more a slow burn and there’s things in it like characters consulting ‘Field guide to Flora of the Highland Fens’ and it’s more literary whereas I was wanting something more fast-paced and genre-informed. It’s still a fantastic book! The writing is very good! I would recommend it for someone who has a reading taste where you like historical fiction that has some speculative elements. Maybe fans of Outlander would like this. It takes the central conflicts a long time to play out and the book is more “quiet” in tone, so if you are into that then this is the good choice for you.

Mixes so many new and old Gothic elements--crumbing house, eco-horror, twisted family mythology--into a fresh and inventive read.